Tag Archives: guest opinion

We all know about reading, writing and arithmetic, but have you ever thought about the importance of our children learning civics? Arizona is leading a push to make sure civics is a part of our curricula. In 2015, Governor Ducey and legislators made sure students had to pass a civics test to graduate from high school. That begins with this year’s senior class. Arizona was the first state in the nation to make this requirement.

On a blog maintained by the Network for Public Education, a blogger recently attacked BASIS.ed and BASIS Charter Schools with a series of falsehoods and innuendo. Ordinarily, we would not dignify such errors with a response, but as the Arizona Capitol Times was going to publish it, and offered us a response, we felt compelled to do so, with facts.

I am a father of five wonderful adopted children. Like every parent, I want the best for each one. We are so fortunate to have the empowerment scholarship accounts, allowing us to send the kids to a private school where they get the extra attention they need to overcome challenges and thrive.

Arizona Senator Jeff Flake’s annual Wastebook would be hilarious if it weren’t chronicling such a heartbreaking waste of taxpayers’ money. This year’s report is especially timely because it provides a useful roadmap for a growing movement of Republicans and Democrats in Congress who are rightfully scrutinizing federal spending on research, particularly untold billions spent on scientifically and ethically dubious experimentation on animals.

We’ve reached a pivotal tipping point – or more likely a breaking point – when it comes to our nation’s health care system. No matter where you fall on the political spectrum, most of us agree the current model must change.

Last October, cyber thieves breached millions of smart DVRs and webcams to attack the Internet infrastructure provider Dyn, disabling websites like Facebook, Twitter, Netflix and others throughout the U.S. and Europe.

President Donald Trump’s nomination of Betsy DeVos for U.S. Secretary of Education elevated the profile of parents that choose how and where their child learns. Prior to her appointment, Ms. DeVos was the chairman of one of the nation’s most active organizations that supported quality learning options for students, the American Federation for Children.

Making the switch to renewable energy is clearly not a partisan issue. According to the Post-Election National Clean Energy Survey conducted by the Republican polling firm Public Opinion Strategies, 75 percent of Trump voters support taking action to accelerate the development and use of clean energy in the United States. Altogether, 64 percent of the 1,000 voters surveyed say they’d even pay more to support renewables.

Hats off to Rep. Paul Boyer, chair of the House Committee on Education, for his bold move to announce that he will not hear HB 2120 in his committee. Among other things, the bill would have banned the teaching of “social justice,” required the instruction of “accurate” history, and allowed the attorney general to investigate alleged classroom violations.